Manchester United contributes three players, Liverpool two, in a Premier League star XI missing the 2026 World Cup. Together, they could challenge any team.
On 2 April 2026 GMT+7, the Daily Mail, a leading British media outlet, named an 11-man Premier League star team who failed to qualify for the 2026 World Cup finals with their national teams, after 48 nations secured places to compete in the United States, Mexico, and Canada.
The notable national teams with Premier League stars that missed the 2026 World Cup qualification, according to the Daily Mail, include Italy, Poland, Denmark, Wales, Ireland, Hungary, Slovenia, and Cameroon. The lineup features 11 players along with their countries' failure details as follows.
(Formation: 4-2-3-1)
Goalkeeper- Gianluigi Donnarumma (Manchester City / Italy) *Eliminated in the European Play-off final, Path A
Right Back- Matty Cash (Aston Villa / Poland) *Eliminated in the European Play-off final, Path B
Center Back 1- Nathan Collins (Brentford / Ireland) *Eliminated in the European Play-off semi-final, Path D
Center Back 2- Riccardo Calafiori (Arsenal / Italy) *Eliminated in the European Play-off final, Path A
Left Back- Milos Kerkez (Liverpool / Hungary) *Eliminated in the European qualifiers group stage, finishing 3rd in Group F
Defensive Midfielder 1- Sandro Tonali (Newcastle / Italy) *Eliminated in the European Play-off final, Path A
Defensive Midfielder 2- Dominik Szoboszlai (Liverpool / Hungary) *Eliminated in the European qualifiers group stage, finishing 3rd in Group F
Right Attacking Midfielder- Bryan Mbeumo (Manchester United / Cameroon) *Eliminated in the African qualifiers second round
Central Attacking Midfielder- Harry Wilson (Fulham / Wales) *Eliminated in the European Play-off semi-final, Path A
Left Attacking Midfielder- Patrick Dorgu (Manchester United / Denmark) *Eliminated in the European Play-off final, Path D
Striker- Benjamin Sesko (Manchester United / Slovenia) *Eliminated in the European qualifiers group stage, finishing 3rd in Group B
If these 11 players could come together on one team and compete in the 2026 World Cup, they would likely be strong contenders against any opponent, as each is a key player or star performer for their Premier League clubs.
